Continuation of Pepperony Week AU
by MyShipsinStormySeas
Summary: Continuation of the AU from my story "2017 Pepperony Week!" Rated T cause I'm paranoid, but it's probably more like K . I own nothing.
1. Chapter 2

Continuation of Pepperony Week AU

Hello there! This continuation is for pepperonylove! Hope you like it!

I highly recommend everyone reads the prequel/beginning of this story before reading this! This is a continuation of the AU from my 2017 Pepperony Week entry.

If you go to my profile you'll find it under "2017 Pepperony Week!"

Click on Chapter 6, the AU ;)

I've added a summary in case you don't read the beginning; feel free to skip if you've read it!

Summary: Virginia Potts was all set to graduate and be off to an internship at Stark Industries. Unfortunately, her mother's cancer suddenly got a whole lot worse. Thanks to an expensive surgery, her mom got better, but it left Potts without a Stark internship and in need of money. She joined Hammer Industries, eventually became CFO, and only meets Tony after Afghanistan, specifically at the Firefighter's Benefit. Okay! You're up to the present point!

~~~~~line break~~~~~~~

Chapter 2

Virginia Potts sighed, watching her boss, Justin Hammer, strut like a peacock up and down the halls of Hammer Industries. Due to the erratic behavior of their main competitor: the famous Tony Stark, the government were looking into other suppliers with more consideration. The arrival of two men in black suits connected to the FBI had put Justin at the top of the world. In other words, he was in his most annoying state. And he'd called a company meeting just so he could share that state with everyone.

Justin, oblivious to Virginia's annoyance, kept walking up to workers to pat them on the back, but really to congratulate himself.

"Thanks to your CEO," he kept saying, "Yes, all because of your CEO, that's me, business is booming guys. The government's finally starting to see Stark for the idiot he is. And now, they'll see my company for what it is: the best, the crème de la crème, the Rolls Royce of weapon engineering, the cream of the field!"

The employee next to Justin shot a look at Potts, questioningly.

"He means cream of the crop," Virginia muttered to him.

"And who is responsible for this you may ask? Who singlehandedly brought this company up to the level it needed to be to compete with the highest in the biz? Again: me. You're welcome!"

Potts joined her coworkers in some polite clapping to humor him, but muttered under her breath, "No one asked, and it wasn't just you."

Almost as if he heard her comment, Hammer rounded on Potts suddenly, making her jump, "Oh and Ginny. I want you to come with me to a hearing tomorrow for Tony Stark. Many important people in the biz will be around and I want you to do some mingling. 8am sharp."

Then as quickly as he turned to her, he turned back to his general audience, "Meeting dismissed!"

Gritting her teeth, Pepper walked quickly back to her office, closing the door before letting out a groan of annoyance. The way Hammer acted, the employees were just a minor inconvenience, practically there for show and nothing else. Great way to increase moral, Justin. Call a meeting and imply how useless everyone is but yourself.

Eventually, she sighed and got back to work.

And one more thing: she really _really_ needed Hammer to stop saying "biz."

~~~ line break ~~~

Sighing, Virginia Potts followed Justin Hammer into the courtroom. She helped him haul all his computer equipment in for his presentation. Outwardly, she was perfectly professional. Inwardly she was screaming.

She'd been having a bad day. Her coffee machine broke, and she couldn't find her favorite heels that morning, so she was grouchy and running late before the day even began. Then she met up with Hammer to go to the press conference, attempting to find out what he wanted her to do. When she finally realized that he basically wanted a pretty face to watch him perform, he was already dragging her into the company car. Then, he made her carry most of the tech, because him carrying it would "ruin his image."

This was so not in her job description. And now that things were finally starting, she'd have to sit there listen to Justin talk about himself. And everyone knew Justin was at his worst when he was the center of attention.

And just to add a cherry to the cake, Mr. Stark was running late, which meant she'd have to sit and wait for him, along with everything else.

She'd just stood up to go get herself some water when a commotion came from the back and Tony Stark walked in, oozing the usual smug confidence and disregard for others' time. She rolled her eyes. Why had she found him attractive on that rooftop again?

Oh yeah, 'cause he hadn't been being quite such an arrogant brat at the time.

At least until he disappeared to get her a drink and never came back.

Potts half-listened to the senator and Mr. Stark insult each other and argue over who should have control over the suits, and at length Hammer got up to begin his presentation.

She was paying equal attention to how Mr. Stark was looking, there at the front of the room. She'd only seen him from a distance most times of course, but there seemed something… off about him.

Some of the banter, the confidence, the arrogance… seemed forced, compared to before. It was like he was hiding something…

She was distracted from her thoughts when Tony hacked into footage of Hammer's personal attempt to replicate the suit.

~~~ line break ~~~

Pepper was furious. Her boss had been doing _what_?

Not only had Hammer gotten them into trouble legally, but he had publicly humiliated the company. Not that he knew his failure would be broadcasted, but still… And worse then that, he had managed to use company funds to support the project and successfully kept it from her! What was he thinking?

There was something else too. On his way out, the self-assured Mr. Stark had paused, and given her a glance… that almost looked something like an apology.

It was just a look. He probably wasn't even looking at her.

Still, it almost looked like he knew who she was… like he'd recognized her from that night on the rooftop and remembered her. And even if he did, they were business rivals. Why would he apologize for making his rival in business look bad?

Pepper shook her head. She was probably making way too big a deal out of it. The man stood her up that night and was probably too drunk to remember it anyway. He was probably staring at someone else.

Still, as a lonely CFO used to working from behind the scenes, that look he gave her made her feel things she didn't want to. Not that she'd ever admit it.

To distract herself, she went to go visit her mother, who was currently in a nursing home. Somehow or other, they ended up talking about Stark.

Her mother had a way of doing that: of figuring out what Virginia was thinking but not telling her, and bringing it into a conversation.

"He's attractive, that young Stark, I'll give him that. Nothing as good-looking as Stark Sr. in the old days though, let me tell you. We were all swooning after him long before Maria came into the picture," Mrs. Potts mused from a comfortable armchair.

Virginia huffed, pushing thoughts of his attractive appearance out of her mind, "Oh please. Sure, he's got looks, but his arrogance more than cancels it out. He's the ultimate narcissist; he thinks he's the only hope for the entire world and irresistible to boot."

Mrs. Potts raised an eyebrow at her daughter, "Hm. Since when were you so invested in such intense opinions about Mr. Stark? I thought you never met the man."

Virginia felt her cheeks grow warm, "I've met him," she said brusquely, "But trust me, the man can't keep his attention on anyone else for more than five minutes."

Mrs. Potts smiled, "I think you like that man Virginia."

"Mom! Really? I just explained why I don't!"

Mrs. Potts simply looked at her daughter, and nodded pleasantly, still smiling, "Whatever you say dear."

Virginia groaned.

Mrs. Potts noted, though, that she didn't continue to protest.

~~~ line break ~~~

When Virginia got home, there was a man with a receding hairline and rather surly expression on his face standing next to the front door.

"Um… can I help you?"

The man sighed, and then pulled out a paper invitation, handing it to her.

"Mr. Stark is having a birthday party in a few days time, and wanted to personally invite you to attend. I'd be happy to offer my services and pick you up at about 5pm before the party to drive you to Mr. Stark's residence."

Virginia couldn't do anything but gape at him. Well… it appeared Mr. Stark remembered her… and he'd somehow found out where she lived…

When she didn't respond the man handed her a card, saying, "Name's Happy Hogan. My number's on the card. I'm Mr. Stark's driver. See you on the day."

Then without further delay, the man turned and got back into his car.

Virginia could hear him muttering to himself, "Oh no; the head of the _tech_ industry couldn't have just sent an email… oh no. That's not good enough. It had to be paper. It had to be delivered by me. It had to involve sending me on a wild goose chase and searching the whole town to find a single woman."

Virginia stared after the car as it drove away.

It wasn't until Happy had left that that she realized she never gave an answer. Maybe it never occurred to Mr. Stark's employees that anyone would turn down an invitation from Mr. Stark.

Just for that she almost decided not to go there and then. But honestly… she was curious. For all she called him arrogant and self-centered, there was something else behind that veneer, which made Virginia want to know what it was.

And well… Tony'd remembered her.

Anyway, it's not like she had anything better to do that night.

~~~line break~~~

I know there wasn't a ton of Pepperony interaction in this, but I promise there's more to come!

Please review :)


	2. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tony groaned. Well... this week was turning out to be just f**ing perfect.

Back when he'd gotten back from Afghanistan, he'd been determined to turn his life around. He'd planned to do good, stop terrorists from using his weapons, and generally help the world as the anonymous "Iron Man." He'd promised Yinsin's memory that he wouldn't waste the time he had.

Now, though, it didn't look like he'd have much time left to waste.

At first, before he discovered the deadly affects of the palladium, he'd just figured that past events were starting to catch up to him. Nothing like escaping from a hostage situation, transforming his weapons-manufacturing company, and being betrayed by the only father figure he'd ever really had to put a spring in his step.

He'd first noticed it at the press conference they gave about how Obadiah died "in a boating accident."

At first, when Coulson told him to "stick to the cards," he'd been determined to just tell everyone the truth. He wasn't ashamed. Just imagine the headlines: "Mr. Stark's Unveiling: 'I am Ironman.'"

When he looked out into the crowd though, he was struck by that sudden sense of tiredness, coupled with a strange loneliness. Sure he could reveal his secret identity, rile up the press, and get a kick out of the whole thing, but he wasn't sure he cared enough. Coulson would only react with his "agent face" and with Obie gone, there wouldn't be anyone really fun to mess with by acting out. He couldn't help feeling that something was missing from his life…

Still, he was pretty sure none of the press bought the "bodyguard" cover story.

And of course, now, on top of everything, there was some lunatic with electric whips attacking him, just as he was crossing off "drive a race car" from his bucket list.

Happy got the suit, and Tony took down the guy, so it worked out.

Sill… looks like everyone knew he was Ironman now.

Seriously though, come on people. It's titanium alloy.

~~line break~~

Virginia Potts gaped for a whole five seconds when she heard the news. Tony Stark, billionaire playboy turned slightly subdued by recent events, was the vigilante Ironman? Seriously?

Also, what a ridiculous name for the latest advance in weapon technology that was quite obviously not made of iron… But anyway, not the point.

And now she supposed to go to Ironman's private birthday party?

No. Oh no. No way. She did not need a man with that kind of recklessness in her life.

Though he thought she was coming, so...

No. No way Virginia Potts. No.

~~line break~~

It was the day of the party, and Virginia went home early, intending to get into sweatpants and stretch out in front of the television, ready for an early night. She'd tell Happy no, and that was that.

It wasn't until she put on a classy black dress, gold necklace and heels, that she realized she'd gotten ready for Stark's birthday party.

She mentally smacked herself. Stark meant trouble, no doubt about it. There was no way this would end well. Forget it; she wouldn't go.

The doorbell rang, and she opened her front door.

"Happy! One moment, let me grab my purse."

And before she knew what was happening, she'd grabbed her purse and plopped herself down in the luxurious car, as Happy the chauffeur closed the door behind her.

Well.

That happened.

Dang it.

~~line break~~

Once she'd entered the impressive mansion, with its many windows and gorgeous ocean view, she looked around, and groaned to herself. She knew she shouldn't have come.

Though impressive from the outside, the mansion inside was filled with unimpressively large amounts of screaming fangirls, cheap champagne, and generally way-too-drunk-for-this-early-in-the-evening party-goers. She saw Tony in an ironman suit practically drunk out of his wits.

She sighed, nodded to herself, and turned to leave.

She almost ran into a black man in a silver ironman suit as he passed by her.

And that's when it all went to hell.

~~line break~~

After the explosions and the screaming and watching the silver suit fly off into the sky, Virginia found herself picking her way back into the slightly demolished mansion.

Mentally, she scolded herself for her lack of any self-preservation.

Still, though, she didn't feel like she could just leave the man there. It wasn't as if any of his fans were about to check on him, and the only friend he'd publicly had was equally responsible for the damage inside.

Upon seeing the dwindling fires and shattered glass, she'd almost turned back, but then she saw the man in the suit himself. He was lying about five feet away from her amidst the destruction, still and silent.

Aloud, she wondered how to open the mask to see if she could check his pulse and make sure he was still breathing.

A disembodied voice answered her, "I'm afraid you don't have access to that information Miss Potts, but I can assure you that I am monitoring his vital signs and that Mr. Stark's breath and pulse are steady.

Upon hearing that voice, Miss Potts' pulse probably sped up a good deal more than was healthy.

She looked around at a loss, "Hello? Where are you?"

"I am Jarvis. I am an artificial intelligence that runs the house, and am responsible for monitoring and caring for Mr. Stark's health concerns, among other things."

Potts nodded slowly, trying to feel surprised, but honestly… this was Tony Stark. She wasn't surprised.

"Do you think he needs a hospital Jarvis?" she asked, looking at the ceiling for lack of a better place.

"The damage done by the silver War Machine suit was in fact mostly external, in that it was done to the suit, not the occupant. The War Machine suit did not actually harm Mr. Stark to any serious degree. I believe he is simply temporarily unconscious."

Virginia nodded again. She believed the computer, or system, or artificial intelligence, or whatever it was. Still, it would have been nice to see Tony's face, and see him breathing.

"Miss Potts," came the disembodied voice of Jarvis once more, "Perhaps it would be reassuring if I opened the faceplate for you? That would not disclose any private information, and would possibly be a comfort?"

Virginia looked up startled and slightly amused, "Wow Jarvis. Can you read minds too?"

Honestly, with Tony's creative mind and engineering ability, it was possible.

Jarvis responded with a chuckle in his voice, slowly lowering the faceplate of the suit, "No Ms. Potts. I'm just a highly intelligent system, not a mind reader."

Then he chuckled again, as if at a private joke, though at the time she didn't recognize the acronym.

Ms. Potts breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Tony's still but quiet face, air entering and exiting his nostrils at a steady rate. She looked down at his relaxed face, thinking that for all the armor he had on, he looked awfully vulnerable at that moment. Without his larger than life persona, he looked lonely and almost smaller in this big empty mansion.

It occurred to her that if she hadn't come back, the man would have woken up alone. The thought made her sad. She wondered how often the famously adored celebrity woke up alone without anyone who really cared to greet him.

Just then, Tony woke up.

He blinked a few times, then stared at her.

Virginia, unable to think of anything to say, silently stared back.

After a moment Tony started to attempt to get himself up, all the while mumbling to himself, "Hm. The peppery one. It was a state; I know it. I'll get it in a minute. Georgia, Caroline, Vermont…"

Jarvis interrupted him, "The lady in the house is a Ms. Virginia Potts. You had me discover her identity after the Firefighters' Benefit, when you described her as-"

"Mute," Tony let out quickly, and then turned to Virginia, "Virginia Potts. I knew that. Can't blame the slow recall though; name doesn't really suit the person."

Virginia raised her eyebrows at him.

However Tony was already looking away from her, assessing the damage to his house, "Hm. Broken glass, a hole in the ceiling, that chandelier and broken furniture. Not too much worse than the usual."

Virginia was starting to feel a bit idiotic, just standing there, so she cleared her throat, opened her mouth to say something, and closed it when she _still_ couldn't think of anything to say.

Tony nodded to himself, "And one Virginia Potts. Still here when everyone else left for the hills. Interesting."

He turned back to her, looking her in the eyes. He took a step closer to her, which was more notable since he still had the suit on.

"So, why aren't you running for the hills Ms. Potts?"

Virginia almost gave a nonsense answer about forgetting her purse in the building and being just on her way out, but something stopped her.

"Honestly… I don't know."

Tony looked at her closely, and she stared back with equal attentiveness.

He was amazed she was still here actually. He'd given her more than enough reason to get as far away from him as possible, and still she stayed.

This was new.

Suddenly Tony nodded at her and grinned, getting himself out of the bulky suit and holding his arm out to her, "Shall we move away from the broken glass Ms. Potts? This isn't perhaps the most comfortable, safe place for a conversation.

Virginia half grinned at that, "Iron Man? Playing it safe? Never thought I'd see the day."

Rather than take his arm, Potts led the way, stepping carefully over the broken glass and heading outside to the front of the house.

Tony's grin widened, and he followed her out.

Once outside, and once she was satisfied that Tony's coordination meant he was basically alright, Virginia rounded on him with her hands on her hips, startling him.

"Why did you invite me tonight?"

Though surprised by the direct question, Tony shrugged it off with a bullshitting smile, "Can't a guy invite the most beautiful woman in town over to celebrate his birthday?"

Potts looked unimpressed, "Cut the bull, Tony. This party was about playing up to your fans and getting stone cold drunk. Even though you've only met me once, you knew I was no fangirl. And beyond that, you basically bated the government into taking your suit, gave them access through Colonel Rhodes, and basically did everything except welcome them at the door. Why invite me to this?"

Tony stared at her, gaping a little. This woman was good. That's twice she'd surprised him in one night. Not many people could do that.

At length, he shrugged again. He turned, looking out over the cliffs at the ocean stretching out under the night sky.

"Let's just say that, this birthday party was important to me. I wanted a good time, but I also wanted someone other than the fangirls and the partiers."

Potts frowned. She had several questions about that statement, but she settled for the one she started with.

"Why me?"

"You saw me. You didn't see the billionaire CEO, or the media's legendary playboy, or even a Merchant of Death, as some call me. You looked at me like I was just another person. It was intriguing…"

Virginia crossed her arms, "So, what? I'm just like another piece of tech to you? Something to occupy your mind for the day?"

"Aw come on Potts; I saw you staring at the benefit."

"What of it?"

"You were curious about me too. Whether I was the man that the media sees, or someone else."

Virginia was silent. He had her there.

"So," Tony continued slowly, grinning suggestively, "In light of our mutual interests, would you like to come back inside to the bedroom and we'll research these topics more… intimately?"

Virginia stared back impassively, "No."

Tony pulled back, looking almost hurt, "Why not?"

"I don't sleep around Mr. Stark. You caught me on a bad night that time at the party. I get to know the person first."

Tony gave a low, unimpressed hum.

After a beat of silence he said quietly, "You know, there are those who claim that life is short, Ms. Potts… who claim we shouldn't waste our moments.

"Exactly, Mr. Stark."

Stark didn't reply but nodded slowly, still watching her, and eventually held his arm out to her with a quiet smile, "It's late; shall I accompany you to your car Ms. Potts?"

Virginia felt a small grin begin to form, "Actually…" she paused, then nodded to herself, "I've got a better idea."

~~line break~~

Virginia wanted to laugh out loud at the big goofy grin that was on Mr. Stark's face. It was endearing, even dare she say it? Adorable.

"These donuts are amazing Pepper!"

Virginia looked up, a little startled, "What did you call me?"

"Oh that's just what I call you in my head," said Tony nonchalantly, "You wouldn't tell me your name at first, and so all I had to go on was our "peppery" first conversation."

Potts began to frown, but Mr. Stark kept right on talking.

"Anyway, I have two questions. One: How did you find this place, and two: how are the best donuts in all Malibu not more famous?"

Despite herself, Potts grinned at his child-like euphoria, but soon she grew more serious as she thought back, "Actually, I found it years ago, the day before I started with Hammer Industries actually.

Stark took another big bite out of the donut, "I'm sensing a story behind this."

Potts shrugged, "Nothing to tell really. I was down on my luck… it was my birthday actually. I needed a job, and the power went out at my house. I was getting tired of looking through job listings with a flashlight, so I came down to this donut shop a couple blocks away. I found a job and amazing donuts, all in one night. It's where I go when I need cheering up. After all, that day started bad, but ended with some hope. Plus the sugar helps."

Stark actually stopped eating for a moment, smiling softly, and taking a quick glance around, "Seems like its the donut shop for birthdays too, seeing as we came here for my birthday too."

Potts nodded. She continued to nibble her sugar donut, but soon the silence began to feel uncomfortable. She looked up, and Stark was staring at her, intently. That was not the gaze of a man who was only a friend. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Ahem," Stark said, turning away quickly.

He asked the first question that came into his head to distract from the awkward moment, "So… when was your birthday?"

Virginia's eyes brightened with amusement but she let him off the hook, "January 24, but I don't celebrate it. Don't have the time or a lot of happy memories to go with it, honestly."

Tony almost choked on his last piece of donut, and then stared at her, eyes wide, mouth open.

"What?" she asked him, puzzled.

Tony shook his head, looking down at his donut, "January 24? Nothing; nothing. Just… your birthday…that's been a bad day for me too."

Potts look at him, a little puzzled, but Stark wouldn't look at her.

"Still, what are the odds? The day my entire life changed…"

Virginia still felt puzzled, but she could sense that's all he wanted to say on the subject. So, she moved on to a different topic, and they kept talking till the sun came up.

~~line break~~~

Hope you liked! Please review and follow and etc. ;-)


	3. Chapter 4

Thank you for everyone for your lovely reviews! Sorry it's been a while, life got busy. This chapter is for the people asking me to continue! Thank you so much for commenting; it's so encouraging!

Chapter 4

The two business rivals became friends that night, eating donuts together alone in a tiny unknown donut shop. As the hours passed, they had grown quiet, but it was a comfortable quiet. Tony was staring out the window at the particularly gorgeous sunrise, apparently lost in thought. Virginia watched him, and considered the man before her.

There was a whole lot more to this man than she'd thought before. Maybe, she thought, that was the point of all the arrogance and extravagance and wide, loud smiles: to hide the rest of himself from the world.

Also, following a slightly different train of thought, the sunbeams playfully shining on his unruly brown hair were making him look particularly attractive in that moment.

Potts startled violently when Tony jumped up to his feet with no warning, breaking the moment, "This is no place to watch a sunrise Pepper!"

Virginia watched him with her mouth slightly open, wondering if the famous Tony Stark really was a little bit crazy. Also, she realized the nickname he'd given her had officially stuck. Oh well, it's not like she really minded. If it hadn't been for the fact that her mother loved the name, she probably would have changed it legally years ago. It always felt far too stuffy for her.

She blinked, pulling her mind back to Tony's comment about watching the sunrise, "It's not?"

Tony pulled her to her feet in a swift fluid motion, "Nope!

Then, not even giving her a chance to catch her breath, he began dragging her out of the donut shop, still talking, "Behind scratched glass, shut in by four gray walls? That's no way to see the world."

He paused, looking around him, until he glanced up at the roof of the donut shop, a big, plastic donut displayed on top for all to see, "There!"

Pepper blinked again, "Where?"

"Up there!" Tony said grinning, looking as if he were making the most reasonable statement in the world.

Then, without further delay, he grabbed onto the gutter hanging over the side of the roof and began heaving himself up.

"You really are crazy!" Pepper laughed, watching him..

Stark turned around, reaching down a hand to lift her up with him, grinning back at her.

"Oh Potts," he said, "If you haven't figured that out by now, then there's really no help for you."

And before Pepper knew what was happening, they were both sitting on a giant plastic donut, squashed together and watching the sun paint colors across the sky.

Still, it wasn't the most comfortable position, so Pepper probably minded less than Tony when a strange man with an eyepatch began yelling up at them about some "important business" that Tony better "get his ass down from there this instant" to attend to.

Tony seemed reluctant to acquiesce to the request, but Pepper could tell from the man's face that it was serious, so she led way, climbing down and telling Tony that she was heading home for a rest before work.

The two men headed back into the donut shop, and met with a new red-haired woman Pepper was sure she'd seen somewhere before, though she was dressed in a strange leather pantsuit.

Pepper shrugged. Who knew what Stark Industries was up to these days.

Instead of worrying about it, she headed home to get in a much-needed nap before work, dreaming about donuts, quiet smiles, and sunrises.

Before long, however, she had to come back down to reality, and deal with the practical side of life: where governments needed weapons, where Hammer was adding his own weapons to the War Machine Suit, and where she had paperwork to do.

~~line break~~

Tony was practically cackling to himself.

He'd decided; he was officially ensuring that donut shop owner was set for life.

That corner donut shop was officially a place of good luck.

Barely an hour after feeling empty, feeling he hadn't much to live for and generally giving up on life, he'd been eating donuts, talking to someone that was starting to make him want to live, and smiling.

And it didn't stop there.

Then, Fury showed up with the one resource he hadn't had before: a chance to pick his father's brain.

That man may have been a mostly crappy dad, but even from the grave he could still take his son to school.

This would work. He just knew it.

~~line break~~

Pepper, meanwhile, was having an epiphany herself, though not a happy one. There was something off about Hammer the past couple days. He was hiding something, just like he'd hid that research into making his own version of the Iron Man suit. She just hadn't known what. All he'd tell her was that he'd been given the opportunity to work on the War Machine suit. He was planning on displaying his additions to the suit at the Stark Expo. But she knew there had to be something else going on.

Today, after Justin left to prepare for his presentation for the Stark Expo, which he still wouldn't tell her about, she'd done some digging.

And she'd finally found it…

She'd followed the paper trail, following up with payroll personally, and the suspicious evidence now rested in the shape of a paper copy on her desk.

Ivan Vanko hadn't died in prison; he'd escaped. And someone in Hammer Industries had paid for him to be broken out. One guess as to who…

She'd never respected her boss, but since the incident with the Iron Man suit remake, he'd completely lost her trust as well. And now, seeing what he was willing to do because his ego had been bruised, Pepper wasn't even sure Justin Hammer was completely sane.

But she couldn't go to the police yet. She had no proof that it was Justin, and she had no idea where Vanko was. With the evidence she had, for all the police would be able to tell, she was the one behind Vanko's escape.

As CFO, she had access to this company no one else had. She was going to find out what Hammer was up to.

She thought briefly about calling Tony, thinking he'd probably end up involved with this anyhow if Vanko was involved.

However, she'd just turned the corner down another of Hammer Industries' long white hallways, when something made her pause and forget everything else.

Two security guards were standing outside some manufacturing workshops, the entrances to which were on her right. As far as she knew, those workshops should be empty, awaiting a new set of shipments.

Strange.

Curious, she veered toward the workshops, acting as if she were about to ignore the security guards and head straight inside.

"Ma'am , you can't go in there!

Turning to the slightly nervous looking security guard, she raised an eyebrow at him, "Do you realize who you're talking to?"

Here she paused, looking at his name tag, "Dave, was it?"

Dave swallowed, but stood his ground, "Yes ma'am."

Pepper continued, "I'm the CFO of this company, Dave. What could possibly be behind those doors that I don't have access to?"

Dave stood his ground, "You'll have to ask Mr. Hammer ma'am.

It was just at that moment that the door behind Dave opened, and another drone-like security guard joined them, "Shift's done Dave; you can go home. I've got the next eight hours."

Dave nodded at him, and then turned to leave, stopping to address Pepper apologetically, "Sorry Ms. Potts, but Mr. Hammer says no one has access to that room without his express permission, no matter how high they are in the company."

To his complete surprise, Pepper merely nodded at him and smiled, "That's quite alright, Dave. You're doing a marvelous job; I should commend our hiring agents in security. I'll just be on my way. Have a nice day."

Dave practically gaped at the infamously stubborn Virginia Potts as she walked away, heels tapping the ground at a calm, steady beat.

He only just managed a reply as she was about to turn the corner, "Have a nice day ma'am!"

He didn't see how she stopped, and covered her mouth after turning the corner, finally able to display her shock. When the other security guard had come to replace Dave, she'd simply leaned to one side to get a good look into the room before he closed the door.

She wasn't quite sure what she had expected, but she knew she hadn't expected rows and rows of what looked like copies of the Iron Man suits.

~~line break~~

Pepper took several deep breaths.

What was happening? She knew it couldn't be a coincidence that first Hammer broke Vanko out of prison, and also happened to have what looked like an entire room full of suits. How had he gotten Vanko to work for him anyway? If she were Vanko, she would have happily agreed to whatever Justin wanted in return for the prison break, but then turned around and fled the country.

It was then that she realized…

This was Justin they were talking about. He was the most manipulable being on earth when he wanted something, blind to anything but the final result. Vanko was using him, probably to cause revenge on Tony and cause more destruction in the process.

She began walking more quickly down the corridor, this time with purpose in every step. That was it. Justin couldn't be allowed to continue, and she needed backup. After all, who better to call than Iron Man?

~~line break~~~

To say that Tony had been busy was an understatement.

He'd thrown himself into the project, destroying floors, walls, and anything else that got in his way. None of it mattered. His life was literally on the line here. Consequently, he was a bit surprised when Jarvis interrupted him.

"I have Miss Potts on the line, sir."

The name was enough to make him pause. When he'd gone with Fury into the donut shop, he'd fully intended to follow up with her. He couldn't explain how yet, but he knew this thing with Pepper was different than the "relationships" of his past. He'd really meant to do better with her then he'd done with women in the past.

Instead, he'd left her hanging, twice.

Sadly, if he wanted to live to spend more time with the woman, he had to do this first.

"Tell her I'll call her back J."

"Sir, she's insisting."

Tony, who was now fiddling with something under a slab of concrete grunted up at him, "I'm a little busy right now Jarvis!"

"I know sir," the AI replied, "But I think you might want to hear what she has to say."

Tony sighed, pushing himself out from under the slab, and turning to a pile of scrap metal in the corner.

He waved a hand distractedly at the ceiling, "Fine; fine."

"Tony?" Pepper's voice echoed in the workshop, and around the particle accelerator he was building.

Unconsciously, the sound of the her voice made Tony smile, but he didn't stop working, "Hey Potts! Sorry I was going to call but I really can't talk right now-"

"Tony, listen to me. Justin's been making suits, or robots, or I don't know… but there's a lot."

Tony nodded absently, "Well I'm sorry for you on a business standpoint, Pepper. Knowing Justin they'll be a complete bust, but why call me to tell me about it? We all saw his first attempts at the court hearing."

"No Tony, you don't understand! Justin broke Vanko out of prison!"

Tony's brow furrowed as he worked, but he was still only half-listening.

"Okay, thanks again for the heads-up. But if you have proof, can't you just call the police to deal with it? I'm a little busy with something at the moment."

Pepper's annoyance cause her voice to rise in pitch, "Tony! You're not listening to me! You could be in danger! Vanko attacked you in Monaco, and he's gonna try again. And now I think Vanko and Justin are-"

Tony interrupted her, "No, Pepper you're not hearing me. I really can't talk right now. Call the police to find Vanko and stay safe. I'll call you back."

Pepper almost threw her phone at the wall as she walked, frustrated, "Tony, you need to listen to me! You're in danger! Don't you care about your life at all?"

"That's why I'm doing this, Potts."

"What does that mea-"

Pepper looked down at her phone. Tony had hung up on her.

After her initial exasperation, Pepper felt herself to be strangely disappointed in him, even if she still didn't know him all that well. He really seemed to be turning a new leaf since Afghanistan. Looked like he was still unreliable as ever though when the fancy took him.

Well, if Tony wouldn't help her, she'd go ahead and get the police involved, like he'd said to.

She'd just dialed the police commissioner's office, when she bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, still listening to the ringing on the other end.

Then she looked up, and her eyes went wide and her mouth went dry.

A large, well-built man, with long hair, tattoos, and a parrot on his shoulder was standing in front of her, holding a gun aimed at her chest. He made a motion for her to cut the call, then swiped a hand across his neck, indicating what would happen if she didn't.

Slowly, Pepper lowered the phone from her ear, hearing the commissioner's secretary on the line, "Hello? This is the commissioner's office. Who is this?"

Pepper ended the call, and the man took her phone with a grunt.

"Sorry lady, but this ain't gonna be nice for you. You're not stopping me."

Pepper closed her eyes and took a steadying breath.

It was Vanko.

~~line break~~~

Cliffhanger! I'm sorry I'm a terrible person ;-D, I'm really gonna try to bring the next chapter soon though, maybe even by tonight! Please Review!


	4. Chapter 5

Thank you for the lovely reviews! Well, I tried. A couple days is better than a week right? Also this is shorter, but I figured I'd give you guys what I have now! Hope you enjoy! Please review ;)

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Chapter 5

Keeping the gun pointed at her, Vanko herded Pepper to a room in the back of the building, far away from anyone who could hear her.

As she went into the room, she almost stumbled over two dead security guards on the ground before her.

Pepper stared with a kind of detached horror at the pairs of dead eyes staring up at her from the floor.

"You killed them," she said.

"Ya."

"But you haven't killed me."

"No."

"Why?"

Ah well… it's not like she ever _claimed_ to have a great sense of self preservation.

Vanko just stared at her silently, a slightly amused look on his face. It was unsettling.

At length he spoke gruffly, "You're big in company, famous. Not Tony Stark famous, but still. And I'm here for revenge on _Stark_."

He almost spit as he spoke the name, hatred clear in his tone.

"I want everyone to watch it, and see Tony Stark fall. I kill you; people's attention split. Only one famous person dies; everyone focus on that."

Pepper nodded slowly, recognizing some twisted logic in that statement. Still, she didn't know how she felt about that. The only reason she was still alive was that her death would _inconvenient_ to this guy. The thought wasn't extremely comforting.

Vanko pointed at the dead guard with his gun.

"Put them on."

Pepper stared for a second, at a loss as to what he could mean, until she saw a shiny, silver pair of handcuffs attached to the dead man's belt.

Hesitantly, she moved over to the body. She'd never seen him before, so he'd probably been hired privately by Hammer.

With a shudder she took the handcuffs out, found them to be open, and put them on.

Still using the gun, Vanko pointed to the corner of the room, "Sit there and be quiet. Don't distract me."

Not seeing another option, Pepper did so, but that didn't stop her from thinking.

What wasn't she supposed to distract him _from_? What was he doing? Would he hurt Tony? At least Tony had the Iron Man suit…

Perhaps the more pertinent question was what would Vanko do with _her_ when he was done?

There was nothing she could do in her current situation, though. Vance simply kept typing away at an old computer hooked up at a desk in the corner.

So… she sat, silent and fearful, waiting for something to happen.

~~~ line break ~~~

Mrs. Potts was getting worried. Normally, Virginia was so responsible that she rarely had any reason to worry about her daughter at all. But now Pepper's mother felt her anxiety levels rising, and she didn't like it at all.

Virginia had promised to visit her that evening, and she was late. Not only was she late, but she wasn't picking up her cell phone.

Now to an outsider, that might not seem like a bid deal. It might even seem like completely reasonable behavior from a daughter with a high-stress job in the weapons industry. But that stranger wouldn't know two things:

One, that not only was Virginia never late, but punctuality was practically part of her DNA. Her daughter liked order and scheduling, finding it to be something in life she could control. She'd bend over backwards just to keep to a schedule.

Two, Virginia Potts never ignored her mother's calls. Never.

Something was very wrong.

~~~ line break ~~~

"I'm sorry ma'am, but Mr. Stark is simply not available at the moment. There's a project of vital importance that requires his full attention, and he has asked not to be disturbed for any reason."

Mrs. Potts sighed. She liked this Jarvis, who apparently was Mr. Stark's butler. She'd reached him from a number Pepper had in her contact book. Her daughter had accidentally left it last time she visited. Jarvis seemed like a nice man, very polite and reassuring. All the same, she was worried about her daughter. She needed answers, now.

"I understand that, Jarvis was it? But you have to understand; I'm really concerned here. Virginia never ignores my calls. It's just not like her! I'm only calling Mr. Stark on a whim; after all she's only mentioned him once or twice. She said something about a donut shop? I just want to know if he's had any contact with her recently."

"I don't think I can release that information, ma'am."

"Jarvis, listen to me. I don't know if you have a daughter, but I do and she's all I have in the world. Virginia could be in some real danger here and I need to find out what's going on. I just want to know if my baby's in any danger!"

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"According to my observations, I have seen Mr. Stark appear fond, and even to show real care for your daughter, ma'am. It is my belief that he would not wish any harm to come to her. It is because of this that I will tell you: your daughter recently called Mr. Stark. She informed him that she had discovered some illegal activity in Hammer Industries. Mr. Stark told her to contact the authorities."

Mrs. Potts eyes widened, "You see Jarvis! Virginia's in trouble! Please, you've got to let me speak to Mr. Stark. If he does care about her about all, then he'll want to be interrupted! Please?"

"After some processing, I agree your conclusion to be logical Mrs. Potts. Also I am programmed to put the value of human life above any other priorities. I will transfer you to Mr. Stark now."

Mrs. Potts gave a great sigh of relief, "Thank you Jarvis! Wait, what do you mean program-"

Tony's voice came on the line, "Hello? Who is this?"

Mrs. Potts spoke at once, "This is Virginia Potts' mother. My daughter is in trouble; I'm sure of it. My daughter believes you're a good man, and I need you to help me help her."

~~ line break~~

Tony was listening, but in the back of his mind he couldn't help wondering if this was simply a concerned mother overreacting. Maybe Pepper got caught up with the police and had her phone on silent.

Still he did his best to be gracious, despite the stress he was currently under, "I understand what you're saying Mrs. Potts, and I agree it doesn't seem like her. But she only called me a couple of hours ago, and she didn't sound like she was in any danger..."

"But Mr. Stark!" cried Mrs. Potts over the phone, the pitch of her voice going high.

It appeared it was a Potts' trait: increased emotion creating increased pitch.

Just at that moment, Jarvis alerted him to another call, from an unknown number yet again. Two unknown people with his private number in one day. It was a new record.

Tony's brow furrowed, "Mrs. Potts, I'm receiving another call. For all we know, Pepper's phone is down and she's having to use someone else's. I'm going to take the call and see who it is."

Before Mrs. Potts could argue, Tony switched lines, "Hello? Pepper is that you?"

The voice of Ivan Vanko echoed in his ears, "Hey Tony, how you doing?"

~~ line break ~~


	5. Chapter 6

Here's a longer one! I love feedback/comments, so please review! Enjoy ;)

Warnings: There's more violence this time and maybe a bad word or two mixed in.

~~line break~~

Chapter 6

Previously…

Before Mrs. Potts could argue, Tony switched lines, "Hello? Pepper is that you?"

The voice of Ivan Vanko echoed in his ears, "Hey Tony, how you doing?"

~~~ line break~~~

Tony's mind blanked in shock. This guy was supposed to be dead!

Ivan Vanko continued, "I double cycle."

"You what?"

"You told me double cycles more power. Good advice."

Tony was about to reply, when another voice shocked him into silence for a second time, "Tony!"

Tony's mouth hung open with disbelief and dread. This wasn't… this wasn't possible! Pepper! What… How?

"Tony! The droids! At the Stark Expo, he's-"

Then there was silence..

Back at Hammer Industries, Pepper sat on the floor, holding still as Vanko held a hand over her mouth and a knife to her throat.

Tony found his voice at last, his rage almost tangible in his voice "Pepper! How? What? Are you alright? Vanko what have you done to her?"

Pepper watched as Vanko turned toward her, a slow smile spreading across his face. His eyes glinted, and he was clearly considering new information.

Pepper shivered. Right; smart choice Pepper. Go ahead and let Vanko know you're connected to his greatest enemy.

Vanko kept the knife at Pepper's throat, but his smile turned into a mocking grin, and his smugness emanated from his voice, "Done nothing yet."

Tony's voice was cold, "Let her go, Vanko."

Ivan laughed at that, "Let her go? I… how do you say? I hold all cards."

Vanko pressed the knife more firmly against Pepper's neck, though not drawing blood, and Pepper squeaked.

Tony was short and to the point, anger keeping his words clipped, "What do you want, Ivan."

Ivan chuckled, "Well, well. I thought great Tony Stark cared for nobody. I wanted to ruin you; ruin expo. But now… so much opportunity."

A tense silence followed: Tony waiting, and Ivan thinking.

"Here what I want, Tony. You make a choice. I program droids; they blow up expo. You can go save people. Or…

He paused and grinned wider, "Or you can save your girlfriend."

Tony's breathing turned into separate, short pants, followed by, "What?"

Ivan grinned into the phone, "Either way: your fault. People die, and you save lady. Deaths your fault. You save people, and lady dies. Your fault."

"Son of a-"

Vanko interrupted him, "Nice talking Tony."

Tony stared at the phone in his hand. Vanko had hung up.

Tony glared with fury at the mobile, and was about to throw the phone at the wall, when a voice stopped him just in time, "Hello? Mr. Stark? Was it Virginia calling? Was it my daughter?"

Tony covered the receiver in the phone, taking a big, shaky breath. Slowly, he let air in and out through clenched teeth.

Then he lifted the phone to his ear, "Mrs. Potts? Yes, I can hear you. That was Pepper on the phone. She's caught up with something at work right now, and she asked me to help her out with it, but once it's dealt with, she'll come see you. Okay, ma'am? Now I've got to go now, but don't worry; Pepper's just fine."

Mrs. Potts wasn't satisfied, "I wasn't born yesterday, young man. I know when people are lying, trying to reassure the old lady in the nursing home. Well, I tell you, I won't have it! Now what is going on-"

Tony ended the call, and stared at the screen.

He sighed, "Well it wasn't as if I ever expected her parents to like me."

Then… he threw the phone at the wall.

Turning, he ran to the suit, "Okay J, we need a plan. You traced Vanko's call?"

"Of course I did, sir," Jarvis replied with disdain.

Tony nodded, and then stopped, turning to the new palladium-free arc reactor. In one deliberate movement, he plugged his new creation into his chest, "Time to run those tests, Jarvis!"

"Sir, I-"

"Don't have time J! Run them!"

The reactor practically whirred in its socket, and Tony yelled out, reacting as the various effects of the reactor hit him.

As soon as they had come they faded, and he jumped in the suit and took off into the sky. He wasn't going to let anyone down, this time. Not today.

~~line break~~

Tony set course for New York, and began to talk, "Well J? Is glowing whip cowboy at Hammer Industries like I thought?"

"Yes sir. Are we heading to the Expo, or to rescue Miss Potts?"

"Not sure yet, but they're both in New York City, so keep flying."

After a moment's thought, he said, "J. Call Rhodey. I need him on this one."

"He's not picking up sir."

"Well override him dammit!"

"Sir, that would take over an hour. You personally protected the War Machine suit against outside tampering."

Tony groaned in frustration, "You're supposed to be able to do better than that Jarvis!"

"I apologize for the limitations in _your_ programming sir."

"Not the time J!"

"Might I suggest calling Mr. Hogan sir? You did put him in charge of your security detail last month."

If he wasn't in the suit, Tony would have smacked himself in the head, "Happy! Of course. Thanks J."

The phone rang twice until Happy picked up, "This is Happy Hogan."

Tony groaned, momentarily distracted, "Happy. I'm calling you, therefore I know it's you. Stop introducing yourself when- You know what? Never mind; not important. Where are you?"

Happy's voice became almost… whiny… which was unlike him.

"Do you really need me Boss? You said I had the night off…"

Tony cut in. He didn't have time for this.

"Yes, Happy. It's important. Where are you?"

Happy sighed, "I was accompanying Miss Natalie Rushman to Expo. I'm in the audience, watching Hamer strut about."

Tony raised his eyebrows. Natalie Rushman? A.k.a. Fury's black-clad ninja? Perfect!

Happy continued, "Are you sure this can't wait boss? It's not every day I get the chance to accompany-"

Tony interrupted again, "It's never gonna happen Hap. Besides she's not Natalie Rushman, she's Shield's secret ninja robot."

"What?"

"Just put her on the phone Hap. I need to tell her what's going on."

"But what-"

There was a muffled noise over the phone. Romanoff had grabbed the device.

"Natalie Rushman here. What's happening?"

"Natashlie! Listen, you're all in danger. Hammer's been working with Vanko. There's something wrong with the drones; Vanko's done something. You need to get everyone out of there."

"What are you talking about? They're saluting… nothing else. Not looking very threatening from here…"

Jarvis interrupted, "Sir? Colonel Rhodes is accepting your call."

"Well add him to this call then!"

Romanoff spoke sharply, "Stark, if you don't give me a good reason to stay on the line, I'm hanging up. There's no apparent threat here."

Rhodes joined the call at that moment, his face appearing on the screen in the Iron Man suit, "Tony! Is this your doing?"

Tony frowned, "Is what my doing?"

"I don't have control of the suit Tony! Some one's taking over…. oh no."

Natasha cursed in Russian, her language enough to impress even Tony, if he'd been able to understand it.

She gripped the phone tighter and muttered, "Okay, I guess that's reason enough not to hang up the phone."

Tony's fists clenched in the suit, "What? What's happening?"

Rhodey's voice was strained, "The suit! I can't stop it… The suit and the drones… they're turning toward the people in the audience! Tony, what's keeping you? Get over here! We need you before people get hurt!"

Tony cursed. He'd hoped Rhodey could take care of the drones at the Expo with the War Machine suit, leaving him free to rescue Pepper. So much for that idea.

"I'm on my way," he said at last, "But we've got more than one problem, people. Vanko's got Pepper Potts, and he's going to kill her if I show up at the Expo instead of where he is."

Rhodes sounded puzzled, "Pepper Potts?"

Tony saw the skyscrapers of New York in the far distance come into view, "Virginia Potts."

Rhodey still sounded puzzled, "Wait, like Hammer's CFO? Did you ever even meet her?"

"We met at the Firefighter's Benefit."

Rhodey still sounded questioning, "Okay…"

"We ate donuts."

Now Rhodey sounded both confused and amused, "You ate donuts…"

Tony snapped, "Yes, okay! We ate donuts! It's not important right now. What's important right now is that Pepper is in danger!"

Natasha Romanoff spoke up, "So is everyone at the Expo, _your_ Expo Stark. We need you here. You're the one with suit, and the one best prepared to take down Hammer's drones."

"So what?" Tony practically snarled back, "I'm just supposed to let Pepper die?"

Natasha sounded annoyed, "I never said that. I was an operative in the field before you made your first circuit board. I'm qualified to take down Vanko."

Tony could tell where this was going, but he didn't have to like it, "I don't think that's even possible, Natashlie. I'm pretty sure you're younger than me so…"

Romanoff ignored him, "I'll go take care of Vanko. You don't have a choice, Tony. We need you here. Where are Vanko and Pepper?"

Tony gritted his teeth, but he knew she was right, "Hammer Industries."

"Good, so he's in New York. Happy, drive me there. Get here fast Tony."

"But-"

Romanoff hung up.

Rhodey spoke up then, voice strained, "Hurry up Tony! It's a madhouse in here!"

"Already here. Come and get me!"

Rhodey looked at Tony on the screen, puzzled, "What-"

Then he looked up.

"Ah…no no, oh ok, we're headed up. Okay, Tony, I'm locked on. The suit's locked on!"

Tony rolled his eyes, "That was the point Platypus. Come on sad, mindless copies of my original magnificent engineering, we're going for a tour of New York City, greatest city on Earth!"

Rhodey let out a yell as his suit rose in the air, "Tony, why are you insulting the "mindless" drones?"

"I'm letting off steam. Plus it worked. Here they come. Hold tight Rhodes, your'e in for a bumpy ride!"

"Please tell me you know what you're doing?"

"Not a clue. Don't die."

"Tony! My repulsers have locked on!"

"To what?"

"To you! Move!"

"I'm going; I'm going."

With that, Iron Man took off at full speed, followed by his best friend trapped in a hostile suit, and many, non-sentient but still extremely vengeful, lethal Hammer drones.

~~line break~~

Meanwhile, Happy Hogan and Natasha Romanoff were just pulling into the main entrance at Hammer Industries.

Happy took down the first guard, and Natasha dealt with the rest, while Happy looked on in awe. They were about to head toward the back of the building where Natasha guessed Vanko would be, when Happy's cellphone went off.

Natasha glared at him, "Really?"

Happy looked at the screen, half defensive, half apologetic, "It's Tony."

Tasha grabbed the phone, "Stark, why are you interrupting the op."

Tony was not apologetic, "Considering I don't hear any screaming security guards, it would seem you're at a convenient break in the so called "op." Keep the line open; I want to hear what's happening,"

Romanoff rolled her eyes as she hooked her phone to her belt, "Shouldn't you be focusing on the drones?"

"There's this new practice called multi-tasking, Tashlie. I invented it for just such an occasion."

Natasha growled, "Call me 'Tashlie' one more time and you'll regret it Stark."

"Lighten up ice queen; nicknames are a sign of endearment."

"Yeah well how about taking your company's profits and killing you slowly in the middle of the night for a sign of endearment?"

"See? I knew you'd warm up to me. Now we just have to work on how you express affection…"

Natasha's voice became hushed, "Tony! Shut up!"

"It's okay; we can figure this out. Just think to yourself- what would Natalie Rushman do? She seemed nice, nicer than you anyway-"

"No Tony, shut up! We're almost at Vanko's location, according to the trace you sent me."

Tony went quiet, though he couldn't help a barely audible, "Your welcome," as he whipped round a corner and took out a third drone.

Romanoff held out an arm to stop Happy from moving any further as they approached a corner. She peaked around it. Before her, a long corridor appeared with an open doorway, bright light streaming through it. Then, she heard voices coming out of that lighted room and echoing in the hallway. The voices belonged to Vanko and Pepper.

Natasha, Happy, and Tony, via the phone, listened in.

"It seem your boyfriend went to Expo."

"He's not my boyfriend, and of course he did. He's a good man. It was save one or save many; he made the right choice."

Tony blasted on the drones with a greater vengeance than before, after that comment, "Hurry up, Romanoff."

Natasha remained quiet.

Vanko continued, sounding bored, "Well, it look like time to kill you now. Then, when he find you, I kill him."

"He'll beat you."

Vanko shrugged, "If he do, he do. I still win."

During this exchange, Happy was staring with bemusement at Agent Romanoff. Why wasn't she attacking? Why was she just standing there, listening? Well, if she wouldn't save Miss Potts, then he would.

Firmly gripping the gun he'd stolen from a security guard, Happy jumped round the corner and rushed down the corridor to the open doorway, ignoring Natasha's hissed warning.

"Hands up Vanko!" he yelled.

As soon as Ivan came into sight, Happy shot at his chest, determined to stop him once and for all. However, it didn't do any good.

Happy gaped at the armor clad man in front of him. Clearly, Vanko had upgraded. The bullet had simply ricocheted off the chest piece of Vanko's armor, which was almost too big for the room. The bullet narrowly missed Pepper, curled up in the corner, and she screamed.

Ivan cracked an electrically charged whip over Pepper's head, making her scream a second time.

"Put gun down, or she die. Trust me; electrocution painful way to go."

Happy looked behind him for backup and saw only an empty hallway.

He raised his hands, and then slowly brought his right hand down to the ground with the gun, placing it on the floor, "Okay, okay. It's just me. I'm cooperating. Look, I'm cooperating."

Ivan's faceplate retracted, and he grinned at Happy, "Good."

At Ivan's instruction, Happy kicked the gun to the other side of the room, and sat next to Pepper.

"Pleasure to see you again, Miss Potts."

Pepper cleared her throat, "I wish I could say the same. You're only one man, Mr. Hogan. Didn't you bring any backup at all?"

Vanko interrupted, as the arm piece of his suit retracted, freeing his hand to pick up the gun and point it at Miss Potts, "Heh. American man stupid. Now have two hostage. One to kill; one for insurance. Now which one…"

He stopped, surprised, as he heard gunshots go off somewhere in the building.

Happy breathed a sigh of relief. He'd begun to think Romanoff had just decided the assignment was too risky, and disappeared.

Vanko dropped the gun, and allowed the suit to cover his face and hand again.

Then he turned to Happy, "Who that?"

Happy did his best to look surprised, "What? How would I know who that wa-"

Ivan interrupted, "You be quiet. I find out. Then you die."

With that, he turned and left, locking the door behind him, and from the sound of it, shoving something heavy in front of it.

Sure enough, Happy shoved against the door as soon as he left, and it didn't budge.

Pepper cursed, surprising Happy and herself.

"Well, Mr. Hogan. You're the one used to dealing with Iron Man's enemies. What are we gonna do?" she asked.

Happy turned to look around the room, "Well first thing's first, we try to find the keys to those handcuffs."

If Pepper could have crossed her arms, she would have, "And about getting out of here?"

Happy began searching the dead guard's pockets, "We wait."

Pepper raised her eyebrows, "For Tony? Vanko will kill one of us before he gets here. And besides, Vanko's ready for him. He's spent all this time preparing… I don't know if the Iron Man suit can beat Vanko's."

"No, not Tony- Aha! Found them!" Happy said, satisfied.

He turned and uncuffed Pepper's wrists, "No we're waiting for-"

He paused and listened, then smiled, "Her."

A great crash came from behind the door, and then the sound of a door being unlocked reached their ears.

Natasha strode in, quickly turning to close the door behind her, before hurrying over to Ivan's computer.

Pepper stared, "Aren't you Mr. Stark's P.A.?"

Natasha ignored her, "Hogan, barricade the door. I need time."

Happy nodded, deciding he was going to listen to the badass secret agent this time, and began pulling everything he could in front of the door.

Natasha began typing away, bringing Tony's call onto the computer as a video chat, "Looking better Mr. Stark. Decidedly not at death's door."

Tony ignored her, "Pepper are you alright?"

Pepper looked up, "I'm fine Tony! What does she mean? And… who is she?"

Tony cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Um, not important, and she's… well I'm not really sure actually. For all I know her real name could be Jane Smith."

Natasha rolled her eyes, "It's Agent Romanoff, Stark. That's all you need to know."

Tony yelled as explosions could be heard in the background, "Aah!"

"Tony!" Pepper yelled, "Are you alright?"

It took a moment, but then Tony's voice was back, "Oh you know… fine, just taking down murderous drones, arguing with Fury's ninja, enjoying the sights of New York, how are you doing Pep?"

"Tony!" Pepper groaned, "Focus on the drones!"

"Actually I think I took care of most of them, I just don't know where War Machine went-"

The loud crash of suit hitting suit came over the speakers, and Tony let out a yell of exertion.

"Tony?" Pepper cried before she could stop herself.

"Found. Him," came Tony's voice, strained as he fended off the attack while doing his best not to hurt his best friend.

Natasha interrupted, "Almost there. 3. 2. 1."

Tony grunted in response, "What do you-"

The sound of battle stopped.

For a second, everything was quiet.

Tony spoke up again, "Well, my best friend just flew across a Japanese garden and fell headfirst into a pond. You got an explanation for that?"

Natasha rolled her eyes, "He's fine. I restarted his suit. Give him a minute."

Rhodey's groan came over the line, "Oh man. You can have your suit back."

Just then a huge bang caused Natasha, Happy, and Pepper to jump and turn to face the only door and exit out of the room they were in. Vanko was back.

Natasha aimed her guns at the door, ready and waiting, "Hurry up Tony. We've got company."

"We're coming."

Another bang, and the mass of a bookshelf, scrap metal and other junk began to shift. It wouldn't take Vanko long to get through.

Happy stood to stand next to Natasha, "Miss Potts, get behind me."

Pepper got to her feet, "Yeah… sorry Mr. Hogan but I'm gonna stand behind Agent Romanoff."

Happy shrugged, "Fair. Smart choice."

Another bang, and the room went silent.

One more bang and the junk flew away from the door, the wood splintered, and Vanko stared inside, his faceplate up, a smirk on his face, "I'm back."

~~line break~~

Another cliffhanger! Lol sorry. Please review! ;)


End file.
